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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Gateway Market's Got Class

This weekend I really needed a mental pick me up. I needed something to help me affirm that I was wealthy, sexy and classy. I decided that the best thing to do, of course, would be to go out to a "cafe." I specifically wanted to go to a cafe because a cafe has a feel that a restaurant doesn't. It's that European (especially French) feel that I love so much. I had a few places in mind: Gusto (which I didn't know at the time was a pizza place), Palmer's Deli & Market (which was a lot nicer before they renovated), Noodles & Co., and Gateway Market's Cafe. I literally drove to all 4 of them, looked around and looked at their menus. I was actually planning on going to Palmer's deli because I had been there before and I just LOVED what I had seen but I feel like they lost a lot of their charm when they renovated. It's like they cut out half of their options. When I walked in there, it just felt empty. It could have been the time of day. I went to Noodles & Co but I really didn't want to take a chance that the bowl of food would be too small, plus, it didn't have that cafe feel. I drove to Gusto and once I read that it was a Pizza place, I drove off because I didn't want pizza. Then I went back to Gateway. (I say "back," because that was the first place I went.)

(Not my pic)

When I first walked into Gateway, I was quite pleasantly surprised. I had no idea it was a fancy-schmancy, Whole Foods/Trader Joe's type place. Wow. Can I just say totally European/New York/California. I felt like I was in a charming adult candy land. They had organic this and fresh that. Local this and exotic that. It was awesome. There's so much to explore in there. Here is a little taste of the inside:

(The one above isn't my pic)

I actually left and went to Palmer's because I had been wanting to eat there for a while but like I said, it was different than the last time I went. I came back to Gateway, looked around at all of the delicious options: Brands of Water that I'd never heard of, Amish Rotisserie Chicken (haven't had Amish chicken since I lived in MI.), the Pastry Shelf...My God. I had one of those rich, moist, dripping cinnamon rolls covered in pecans! My God it was heavenly. I still have some on top of the fridge. Tomatoes I had never heard of...I love tomatoes.
(That's my pic of their water )
(I took that pic for my mom.)

(<========== Here's my Pecan Cina-Roll)
But I had a mission. I wanted something delicious and classy to eat that was going to make me feel as special as I am. I waltzed into the cafe and looked at a paper menu because I can't stand looking up at those chalk menus. I want to really review my menu. I had narrowed it down to about 3 things: A Chicken Club sandwich- no bacon in the club- which was fine cause I didn't want bacon but I just found it strange that they named it "club." I've never heard of a club sandwich that didn't have bacon on it; a Corned Beef Reuben and they had a Tuna steak or something that caught my eye, but I really didn't feel like fish. I checked the menu to see if they had Pastrami instead of corned beef and they didn't, so I decided on the grilled chicken club. This chicken club sandwich was made with a Pesto Aioli sauce. I had never heard the word "aioli" before so of course, I asked how to pronounce it. (Ah-Oh-Lee) It's the green sauce on my sandwich below:

I was hesitant to order the onion rings because they were thin cut and I thought the were going to be too thin but it turned out well. I ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio and went to my seat. The meal came out and goodness gracious. It looked delicious. (That is my meal =============>)

Great portion size. They served the sandwich on a Focaccia Bun (like they were reading my mind) with extra provolone cheese (just the way I asked for it) and the pesto aioli. When I took a bite into that sandwich, I tell you the truth, my taste buds were restored. I had grown so weary of eating turkey sandwiches everyday at work; I needed something to remind me that food was awesome. This place did the trick. The chicken was juicy, the sauce was great, the onion rings weren't too thin or too greasy. Everything was on point and the service was great. I will definitely be going back to this place, not only for food but for groceries. I can't believe it took me so long to go. I am also going to take my bath salt there and see if they'd be interested in selling it.

(<========= My Bath Salts)
Not THAT would be cool! Alright everyone, I know I haven't been blogging as much but I've been really busy. I am going to do my best to blog when I am inspired. (Like I was this weekend.) Thank you Gateway Market, for being so classy and wonderful.